William Phipps and the Diving Bell Bubble: Sunken Treasure, Witches and the Route to Empire

William Phipps, a self—made treasure hunter and royal governor, rose to prominence but faced controversy in seventeenth—century Boston.

William Phipps’ rise to fame and fortune was meteoric. His short and hectic life was punctuated with many unlikely achievements, of which raising treasure from the wreck of a Spanish galleon was the most famous. For this, he was knighted. Locating his Spanish prize was no fluke. Phipps had worked on the project for years. As in all his endeavours, success wa...